


Just another student (he's not)

by Keepmystrength



Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Drama, F/M, Friendship/Love, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-05
Updated: 2016-08-15
Packaged: 2018-08-19 23:42:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 22,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8228752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Keepmystrength/pseuds/Keepmystrength
Summary: Modern AU. Their hands roam freely in the shadows, over and over, so much they resemble animals. The city lights announce the morning, but in their bed time doesn’t exist. Nothing else exists. Too bad it can’t be the same way in her classroom. Teacher!Katniss, Student!Peeta.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone, it feels nice to be back. I have wanted to write something new for weeks –months, even–, but life has gotten in my way. Somehow, I decided to make up the time for this.  
> This one-shot was inspired by a song, written by Melendi. He’s a Spanish singer and songwriter. His songs are truly amazing and when I heard this song it just yelled “EVERLARK” at me. I needed to write something about it.  
> Remember English is not my native language so don’t be surprised if you notice some mistakes further in the story. All mistakes are mine.  
> As always, THG and all its characters belong to the lovely Suzanne Collins.  
> This is posted on my FF page too. I’m keepmystrength.

He's staring down at her adoringly as she sleeps, and he wonders how someone can look so peaceful in their slumber when they scowl all day long. The thought makes him chuckle.

He softly runs a finger down the side of her face; from her temple to her cheekbone and then to the curve of her mouth and down her neck until he gets to her exposed shoulder. He doesn't want to wake her, but he doesn't know if he can resist not putting his mouth on her skin for much longer. He feels like it's been an eternity since they last kissed, even though it hasn't been more than an hour.

Is this what true love feels like, Peeta wonders, feeling like you'll never have enough of that person?

His intentions of not waking her fail. She stretches her limbs like a cat and nearly purrs. She opens her eyes and as they lazily focus on him a pleased smile erupts in her lips, still swollen from their kisses. She grabs the nape of his neck and pulls him down, nuzzling his nose with hers. He's held off for too long, he finally decides, and presses their lips together.

She gives a satisfied moan while pulling him closer, and he settles between her legs, caressing her thigh and then her backside. His brain feels mushy, the way it always feels when she is kissing him, but he concentrates hard enough to reach into the nightstand in the left side of the king sized bed for the box of condoms they've been using the past few hours.

He tears his mouth from hers so he can see what he's doing, and she takes that to her advantage and starts sucking the lobe of his ear. He picks up one foil wrapper and realizes there are only two left. He makes a quick mental note to go pick up some more before nightfall.

Peeta rips open the silver package and wraps the prophylactic down his length, hissing as he does it. After he's covered himself completely he doesn't waste another minute and joins their bodies together. Katniss moans loudly beneath him and he groans in her ear, feeling the goosebumps rise in her skin. He thrusts slowly and then faster inside her, and she sings and sighs and whimpers.

He kisses her ear, her mouth, her neck, her collarbone and then her breasts, feeling her heartbeat pick up. As their sweaty bodies are slapping together and her walls are closing around him, he bites his lip hard to contain himself from ending this too soon. Her soft fingers stroke his cheekbone, and her words come out in pants as she talks.

"I'm close," she says, "Let go, Peeta."

She kisses him again and purposely squeezes her walls tighter around his shaft while also squeezing his butt; and the realization that he's here, doing this with her, is suddenly too much. He groans against her mouth and spurts inside the condom, and with a few more drives inside her Katniss cries out in ecstasy.

He stays inside her for a few more minutes, waiting until their breathing slows down. When he realizes he's putting too much weight on her he begrudgingly stands up and disposes of the condom. He grabs a towel from the bathroom counter and runs it down warm water, and then he walks back into the bedroom where Katniss is moving to stand up. He gently pushes her back on the bed.

"Again?" she smirks.

He snorts. "Give a guy some time to recover," he runs the towel between her legs and cleans the proof of their lovemaking. He throws it into the dirty laundry hamper and sits back on the bed just as she stands.

"Where are you going?" he calls after her.

"To take a bath," she walks into the bathroom and almost instantly the shower comes on. Peeta goes to push himself up from the bed as her voice resonates from the other room, "And don't even think about joining me in here."

His mouth hangs open and he huffs, "Well why not?"

"Because, if you join me we'll probably have sex again and we've already spent all afternoon going at it and I've got tests to grade that need to be handed out on Monday,"

He stiffens a little, surprised that she decided to acknowledge the elephant that appears in the room when they are alone. She seems to notice it too, because she suddenly falls quiet.

He tries to disperse some of the tension in the room by joking, "Well, you sure weren't complaining earlier,"

"Ha!"

He can't stand the silence that follows, so he puts on some music just as she comes out of the shower, skin still glistening from the water, clad only in a small towel that leaves little to the imagination. Once she stands in front of her closet she drops the towel, baring herself to him.

As she searches in a cabinet for her underwear, she starts humming and swaying to the rhythm, and he admires hungrily her body. Her perky breasts, her full hips, her round butt, legs that seem to go on forever… he wants to memorize every single detail about the canvas that is her body. As if sensing he was having thoughts about her, she turns around and locks her eyes on his. She notices what he was doing and gives him a genuine smile. The sunlight streaming through the window reflects on her, and he swears she looks like and angel.

"Let's go somewhere," his mouth says the words before his brain can process.

She turns to look at him, "Go? We've both got things to do–"

He saunters over to her quickly and takes her face in his hands, looking deep into her eyes. "I know. I know we do. But just for this once, can't we be irresponsible and put ourselves first?"

The look she gives him cracks his heart, and he knows what she's going to say before she says it, "Peeta, you know if anyone sees–"

"I know, okay? Trust me, please; I know a place we can go where no one would see us," he puts his forehead against hers and closes his eyes, feeling her eyelashes flutter against his cheeks.

She knows how precious are these moments they get to be with each other, but she also values responsibility, and she hates being anything but responsible, especially with her job. But he can sense her giving in to his suggestion.

"Okay." He kisses her hard.

They're both ready to go half an hour later. They go out and walk towards where he parked his motorcycle, and when he hands her his extra helmet she gives a grimace. She's never liked his bike so much. He's been doing some saving to try and buy a car.

The whole ride she keeps her arms tight around his waist, and constantly presses kisses to his shoulder blades. Once they get to their destination he helps her get off, and her mouth hangs open at the view.

"Wow." She says in awe. "How do you know this place?"

"In Freshman year I was wandering around trying to get to know the city and somehow ended up here. It's been my safe place since," He wraps his arms around her.

They're standing at the hill that overlooks the whole city of Panem. To get there it takes nearly an hour from campus, so he supposes there is no risk of running into someone from Capitol U. There is a higher and more impressive view, but his bike can't get up there and he and Katniss didn't go exactly prepared to go hiking.

"Thank you for bringing me here," she says and leans back against him.

"I want to freeze this moment and live in it forever," he says after a while.

They keep quiet for a few more minutes, looking the horizon and the sunset, and here, the wind blowing in her face with the crowed city below them, Katniss thinks she's never felt freer.

"I'll allow it," she says.  
.  
.  
.

She's late, Peeta thinks.

It's been ten minutes since the class was supposed to start, but the teacher wasn't there yet. There's an excited buzz around the class, most of the students thinking they'll probably get the period off.

"You okay, Peeta? You look a little lost," Madge says.

"What? Oh yeah, I'm fine don't worry," he gives her what he hopes looks like a reassuring smile.

Not five minutes later, through the door waltzes a scowling dark blur with raven colored hair, a folder stacked with papers in her arms and her purse hanging from her shoulder. He feels his heart rate pick up just at the sight of her.

After she drops her belongings in her desk she straightens and looks around the classroom, "Good morning,"

"Good morning," the class echoes back.

"I'm really sorry I'm late, my morning so far has been hell," she starts and grabs the course book from her bag. "Let's get down to business shall we? Open your book in page 87…"

As their routine goes, she doesn't dare to look at him.  
.  
.  
.

Peeta knew who Katniss Everdeen was even before he'd been assigned to her biology class. They'd both grown up in a small town in Virginia called District 12. Katniss is 5 years older than he is but in such a small town you know everyone.

Besides, he'd been in love with her since he was five years old.

Ever since he heard her sing in the school assembly he knew he was a goner. He'd only talked to her a couple times when she came by his family's bakery with her sister, but they never really talked. When he was a freshman, she was a senior. As soon as she graduated high school she left that goddamned town with a scholarship to attend to Capitol U, and now she only came back for Christmas.

He never got to know her better, at least not until he started in CU.

They saw each other for the first time in years in campus during his freshman year, the same year Katniss had gotten her degree in Biology and had been offered a job at the university. He asked her out to dinner but she said she was a teacher there, and he confessed he was a student. He still remembers the look of disappointment in her eyes when she had to say no.

After they knew she was his biology teacher she'd cut off their ties immediately and he agreed, it was the right thing to do after all. But staying away proved easier to be said than done. Coincidently they saw each other one Saturday morning in a small vintage coffee house away from campus, Peeta asked her to sit with him and she reluctantly said yes. Those were the moments he truly got to know Katniss Everdeen. Her passion for teaching and Biology and the love she felt for her sister made him feel like a little kid all over again. He was head over heels for her.

They kept seeing each other in the coffee house on Saturdays, always choosing a table in the back of the small business and one of them sitting with their back to the main door. And sometimes, they went jogging together on Sundays.

It took Katniss a long while to admit her true feelings for him, but eventually she did. And he didn't want to wait any longer. So here they were, four semesters later after seeing each other in campus; they'd been having a teacher-student affair for over six months. Funny thing is she's been his teacher for two of those four semesters.

In class, they act as nothing more than a regular student and a teacher. He rarely asks any questions and she rarely calls him out on anything. But when they're alone it is like time doesn't matter. The moon is their only witness, and the constant buzz and excitement of the city die down, until the only sound left is the sound of their breaths and hearts beating as one. Nothing else is important but them, right there on her bed, in her shower, couch, kitchen…

Only they exist, nothing else.  
.  
.  
.

His friends know that he's seeing someone, they just don't know who. It's not like he'll ever tell them. The only reason they seemed to find out he was seeing someone was because his roommate and best friend, Finnick, accidently let out around their other friends that Peeta spends most his weekends out and comes home Sunday night looking thoroughly fucked.

He loves Finnick like a brother, but he should seriously consider keeping his mouth shut.

"Seriously, you guys should see him. Whoever this chick is she's fucking his brains out. And every weekend like clockwork," Finnick says one Thursday night when their friends are gathered around playing videogames in their apartment. He is right about something, Katniss is fucking his brains out and some weekends their desire for one another doesn't let them think. They are like animals.

"Good for you, Peet," Thresh says, not taking his eyes off the screen.

Thom ignores him, "Peeta really, who is this girl and why haven't you introduced her to us yet?" he suddenly widens his eyes exaggeratedly, "Oh God. It's not a guy is it?"

"Not that there would be anything wrong with that–!" Finnick rushes out hastily.

"Exactly!" Thom goes on "We're not homophobic or any of that bullshit so if you prefer sausage you can tell us man it is alr–"

"Dude, I'm not gay!" Peeta shouts exasperated "Yes it's a girl. She's just very private about her life and we're not… official yet so we're waiting a while longer until she meets you guys,"

"I got it," Marvel snaps his fingers and even if Peeta know it's impossible for him to know about Katniss, his stomach still does nervous somersaults, "Madge Undersee!" he releases a breath.

"No, it's not Madge."

"Really? Well someone should tap that 'cause she's got great tits," Cato declares and Peeta rolls his eyes.

His friends nod in agreement.  
.  
.  
.

Peeta loves biology; it's what made him want to become a doctor in the first place. It fascinates him, and the idea of helping people makes him go warm inside, and it's the reason why he's currently in medical school. But this semester the subject hasn't been going so great for him. And it's his own damn fault.

But how can he focus on cells and organs –other than his dick and heart, at least– when he's got in front of him the sexiest teacher this university has probably ever had.

And Katniss is a great teacher; she's patient and smart and always gives the best of her in every lecture. All his classmates adore her. Peeta can't really blame them. She's just too much of a distraction. He can feel the sexual tension between the two of them radiating in waves and he just hopes other people don't notice it too.

In class and around the halls they try to act as normal as possible, so people don't suspect.

One day in class she doesn't braid her hair as she regularly does; instead her curls are hanging in dark cascades down her back. She's writing on the board, her back to him, and she pushes her hair off one shoulder and pushes it to the other, exposing some of her soft olive skin. He remembers how many times he's kissed that bare shoulder, and how many times he'd bitten it, causing her to release the loveliest sounds.

He can't stand up from his seat so people don't notice his hard on. He has to think about many upsetting and disgusting things so he's calm enough by the time the class is over and he has to stand up. That doesn't stop him from jacking off as soon as he gets home though.  
.  
.  
.

They would not see each other during the week, only in class or when their eyes would meet in the hallways on campus. She would not even return the easy smiles he gave her when their stares found each other's; instead she blushed and ducked her head lower, as if trying to make herself shrink and disappear.

She's scared. By being in this relationship he knows she's risking everything; her career, her degree, her reputation… which is why she would never meet his eye outside the safe heaven her apartment is. She's scared of what people might say or think if they are seen smiling shyly or giving longing stares at each other.

And he understands. Really, he does, how could he not? But that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt him every time he tries to talk to her in the halls and she runs away like he's the plague.

"Why don't you and your girlfriend see each other during the week?" Finnick asks him one afternoon in their apartment.

"I told you it's complicated."

"Yeah but if you already spend all weekends together what does it matter if you spend some school nights at her place?"

Peeta doesn't know how to explain that he and Katniss can't drive down to the university together because they can't be seen.

"We just can't," he says finally.

Finnick shrugs, "Whatever man, I'm just saying if you really wanted to you'd do it."

"You think I don't want to spend more than just the weekends with her at her place? Of course I do, but it's not that easy," Peeta says sadly.

Finn puts a hand on his shoulder in a comfort manner and Peeta looks at him. "I know it's complicated, but have in mind that it'll be worth it. I mean, you've got nothing to lose right? Worst case scenario she kicks you out tonight and you go back there on Friday," He knows he has a lot more to lose than that, but he thinks it might be worth a shot.

When he gets to her apartment complex and hour later he doesn't even have the chance to call Katniss to tell her to buzz him in because some woman is exiting the building just as he gets there and he quickly lets himself in. Katniss lives in an old six story building with no elevators and two apartments per floor, so he climbs the three set of stairs up to her floor.

He arrives at her door with a cap hiding his blonde curls and his backpack slung over his shoulders. Inside is a change of clothes and the books for all his classes tomorrow. He knocks and suddenly feels anxious and a little worried that she might actually kick him out.

When she opens the door it's clear she wasn't expecting him to be on the other side. Her mouth hangs open and she even pales a little as she takes in the sight of him, but she recovers quick enough to grab him and push him inside before anyone sees him.

When she shuts the door she turns to him and starts talking a mile per minute. He's ashamed to say he's not listening to what she's saying; instead he's focused on her figure. She's wearing one of his shirts and some boy shorts, her hair is on a messy bun and her reading glasses are perched on her slender nose. She's stunning, he thinks.

"Peeta, are you even listening?" she throws her hands in exasperation.

Whoops, he's caught.

"Sorry I took you by surprise, but I wanted to see you,"

"Well couldn't you have FaceTimed me?" she rolls her eyes.

"You know it's not the same thing," he defends himself.

She softens a little, "Peeta, you know we can't be seen."

"But we already see each other every weekend here. Why does it matter if we meet during the week too?"

"Someone could see you!"

"They could see me on the weekends too!"

"Peeta!"

"I want to see you during the week, having to wait until the weekend is too much of a torture for me," he takes her hands on his and kisses her palms.

She closes her eyes for a second, as if asking God for patience to help her deal with him. When she opens them she looks at him with determination "Fine. But you have to leave earlier than me so we don't arrive to campus at the same time and no one sees us leaving together," She shrieks when he picks her up and spins her around.  
.  
.  
.

He's been coming here during the week for almost two months now and so far their plan has been working perfectly. He leaves a good half hour before she does, and he's already at Panem U by the time she's leaving her place.

It's a Wednesday night and he's at her place again. They are being lazy together and watching a movie in the living room when there is knock on the door.

Katniss is suddenly very alert and her head flies from his chest where he was currently stroking her hair. Her eyes are wide and scared as she stands up and looks at him.

"Go in my room," she whispers and starts moving stuff around the living room to try and disguise the existence of a male presence.

He's busier thinking who is visiting his girlfriend –is she even his girlfriend?– on a school night at 8:30 pm.

He hides in her room but leaves the door a bit open so he can hear who knocked in the first place.

The main door opens and a male voice rings out, though he doesn't recognize who it belongs to. Katniss sounds confused too, and their voices sound louder so he figures they must have moved to the living room.

"Not to be rude, but what are you doing here?"

"Aw c'mon, can't I visit my best friend?"

He recognizes the voice now. Mr. Hawthorne. He too teaches at the university, but he teaches Chemistry.

He's also Katniss's best friend. Peeta is not exactly fond of him.

Katniss reassures him all the time they are just friends, but he has seen the way Mr. Hawthorne looks at her. He knows that look all too well. It's the same loving look he gives his girlfriend–?–.

He knows he wants her to be his girlfriend, but he's not sure if she wants the same. She still pales every time their stares meet in class.

"Don't bullshit me, Hawthorne,"

Gale laughs. "I'm not bullshitting you, Catnip, I came here because I needed to talk to you about something. Lavinia and I broke up,"

"Oh Gale I'm sorry,"

He hears them sitting down in the couch, right where he and Katniss had been sitting moments earlier.

"Yeah well, I sort of saw it coming, but that's not everything I wanted to tell you," he takes a breath and Peeta can only imagine what he'll say.

He hears Gale confess his true feelings for Katniss, how he's always seen her as more than a friend but was too scared to tell her the truth but now that he's single and she's single maybe they could try and finally be something more.

All he can think about is how much he wants to storm out there and claim Katniss as his, but he knows she'd kill him. He's looking forward to tell her I told you so later when Mr. Hawthorne leaves.

Finally Gale finishes his speech and the room is quiet enough you could hear a pin drop. After a few moments Katniss takes a breath and talks,

"Gale… I don't know what to say. I feel honored, but I… I don't think I'd be able to try to be something more. You're like my brother, and I'm not sure I'll ever see you as anything else," she says apologetically.

"You'll never know if you don't give us a chance, Catnip. We could try and see where we go from there–"

"I'm seeing someone," she says quietly and from her bedroom he can feel the tension in the room intensify.

"You… What? Since when have you been dating anyone? Who is he? Why haven't you said any–" he stops talking "Is he in here right now?"

"No!" Katniss squeaks. "No one else is here, Gale, but that's not the point. We've been coworkers and friends for years, and you mean so much to me, I don't want to lose your friendship over this," she pleads

"I need to stay apart from you for a while, Katniss. I hope you understand that,"

"Gale–" the door opens and shuts as quickly.

Katniss sighs and locks the door, and he's waiting for her with his arms crossed in the doorway of her bedroom. He can't extinguish the smug look on his face.

"I told you so," she scowls and rolls her eyes.  
.  
.  
.

She's riding him on her couch, their hips meeting harshly and their lips uttering out breathy moans and profanities. Her hair and eyes are wild, and her cheeks and chest are flushed. A thin coat of sweat is covering her skin.

The tight coil in her abdomen finally snaps, and she screams out his name. She falls forward and her head rests on his chest, trying to catch her breath while he desperately tries to reach his own peak. Katniss suddenly realizes he has yet to come, so she slides down from his body and takes the condom off him and puts him inside her mouth. He moans and groans as she sucks him and it's only a few more minutes until he's coming inside her mouth.

Afterwards, they're both sated and still laying on the couch when Katniss says, "I want to go to the beach,"

Peeta grasps her chin and makes her look up at him "You do?"

She nods. "Yeah, it's been a while since I've been there and I'm just realizing how much I want to go,"

"Okay, if you want to go we'll go,"

She seems surprised when he says it, "Seriously?"

"Sure why not?"

"Let's go this weekend then!"

They leave early in the morning. The city is quiet, since it's barely 8 am on a Saturday. They have to drive for two hours until they reach their destination, but Peeta knows it was worth it the moment he sees the excitement reflected on Katniss's eyes. She lits up like a kid on Christmas morning.

It had been a while since he had been at the beach. As a kid his parents never took him much, his mother hated it because the wind messed up her hair and his father got frustrated because his brothers always had sand fights and usually one of them –sometimes Peeta– ended up crying and with sand in his eyes.

So it was fair to say he didn't have many nice memories of the beach, but that changes the moment he parks her car and sees Katniss fly out of the vehicle towards the ocean. She starts splashing water around and she looks so genuinely happy he wonders why they never did this before.

They decided to go to a more secluded beach so they wouldn't run into someone they knew, going North instead of East, where there were most of the popular beaches that harbored many college students.

They go diving, build sand castles, splash each other with water, and Peeta can't remember the last time he had this much fun.

They decide to go back around 4 pm. They are both exhausted and sticky with salt water; besides, it's a long drive back. Katniss insisted that she drive, since he drove in the morning, but Peeta can see the sleep clouding her eyes, so he refuses and tells her to get some sleep. She scowls, but doesn't fight him. She falls asleep the minute they hit the highway; her soft breaths music to his ears.

They get to her place a little after 6 pm and take a shower. Neither has the energy to make dinner, so they order some pizza and go to sleep shortly after.

Peeta returns to his own house the next morning, since he has some assignments to do. She doesn't want him to leave, but she know he would't go if he didn't have to, so with a long kiss she bids him goodbye.  
.  
.  
.

His next class with her is a torture for the both of them. After the weekend they spent at the beach it was even harder than usual to pretend he was just another student and that she was just his teacher.

It was the next Friday after their beach trip, and he hadn't been able to go to her apartment during the week. The both of them had been busy. He had many assignments to do from other subjects and she too had papers to grade, so they decided to wait until they were both free of their responsibilities to see each other again.

Which is why that day he is unable to focus on anything she says, even more so than normal. He's more concentrated on not getting an erection in the middle of her class. He notices that she's having a hard time focusing on the lecture too, she keeps sending looks his way, but when their eyes meet she quickly turns hers away.

"Ms. Everdeen seems weird this morning don't you think?" Madge says from next to him. He hadn't even noticed she was there.

"Huh? Oh, I don't think so," he mumbles,

He sees Cato on the row next to his, and by the looks of it he's sleeping, his eyes are closed and his chin is perched on his hand. His head suddenly tilts to the side and he startles awake and quickly looks around to make sure no one noticed.

But besides Peeta, Madge had seen it too and they start giggling when they see Cato falling asleep again. They are still chuckling when Katniss's flat voice rings through the classroom,

"Ms. Undersee, Mr. Mellark, is there something funny about my class?"

Madge flushes, "N-no," she says quietly.

"We're sorry, professor. It won't happen again," Peeta responds. Katniss narrows her eyes but goes back to her lecture.

He means to talk to her after class is over, but she rapidly picks up her things and leaves the classroom in a rush.

A few minutes later he's walking through campus to get to his Anatomy class when his phone pings with a new message.

Katniss: Sorry that I called you out earlier in class, I'd been acting suspicious. Had to make sure everything looked normal.

Received [11:27 am]

You: It's okay, don't worry :) are we still on for tomorrow?

Sent [11:29 am]

Katniss: count on it ;)

Received [11:30 am]

He smiles and makes his way to class.  
.  
.  
.

He arrives at her apartment on Saturday evening, and as soon as he knocks the door flies open and Katniss pulls him inside. She kisses him breathlessly and he walks her back in the direction of her bedroom. They only separate long enough for her to tug off their shirts, leaving a trail of clothing behind them. He lifts her up and her legs instinctively wrap tightly around his waist, locking him. He gets to her bedroom and drops her unceremoniously in her bed, stretching so he can find a condom but her hand on his bicep stops him and he glances down at her.

"We don't need that," she says raspy.

"Are you sure?"

"Do you trust me?"

"With my life," and he means it.

She gives him a nod and that's the only permission he needs to slip inside her heat. He thought being inside her was heaven, but being inside her without any sort of barrier is indescribable, and he's sure this must be the Fields of Elysium and Tartarus at the same time, because now he knows this is where he wants to stay forever, and knowing they can't spend every minute of the rest of their lives in this same position is hell.

She must feel the intensity as well because she keens loudly and curls her back as he starts moving and wraps his lips and then teeth around her nipple, tugging at the other with his thumb and forefinger. Pretty soon they are panting, their lips meeting sloppily and their hips losing their rhythm. He reaches down and rubs her clit and that is all she needs to come undone. Her orgasm milks his and they lay spent on the bed catching their breath.

She kisses the side of his face and runs her fingers down his silky back over and over. Their heartbeats return to normal and he can feel her fingers slowing down, her breaths coming longer and he knows she must be falling asleep. He figures he has to say something now before he loses his nerve. Bite the bullet for once and all, Peeta, he encourages himself.

But what if she freaks out and runs away from him, his mind says.

Before he can go on battling with his own head he decides to just go with it and say it, "I love you," he says nervously and her eyes fly open. Her mouth opens and closes as if looking for something to say and before she can say anything he hastily adds,

"You don't have to say it back, I've had enough time to think about how I felt but I just spurted this news on you, so I don't expect you to say anything right back,"

He smiles and she looks troubled for a while, perhaps wanting to say something but afraid that it won't be the right thing to say. After, she takes a breath and grasps his face in her hands, stroking it fondly. Her eyes are apprehensive, and for a moment he wishes she wouldn't say anything. Straightaway he's scared of what could happen. She probably senses his unease because she gives him a tranquil smile.

"I love you too,"

He sighs "I know our situation isn't ideal but I'd been holding it in for too long and even if you don't feel the sam–" he stops abruptly.

"What did you say?" she giggles at the stricken look on his face and for some reason he has the urge to laugh too. He lets out an incredulous laugh.

"Y-you mean it?" he asks, but he can detect in her eyes a glimmer of pure adoration and a love struck impression on her face. He knows she's speaking with the truth.

"I love you," She shrugs. "Somehow you sneaked up on me. When I realized the depth of my attachment it was too late to back out," she jokes.

He gives a joyous laugh "I love you too, more than you'll ever know." And he kisses her.

They let their feelings overwhelm them and soon enough they are consummating their love once again. Their bodies connect as one and their hearts beat rhythmically. Their lips are flush and bloated against each other's, and he swears to the moon and the stars and God that he'll make this woman happy. He'll help her fulfill her dreams and fabricate new ones. He'd drive her down to the beach everyday if that's what she wanted, and he'd find a way to give her the world if she ever asked for it, because a woman as amazing as her deserves nothing but the whole universe.  
.  
.  
.

The next few weeks pass uneventfully; he still goes to her place at least once a week and spends the weekends there. Summer is fast approaching, so they're both neck deep in essays and papers and exams, him writing, her grading them. On Friday he finally shuts down his laptop and his books and decides he's done enough studying for the day. He picks up his phone and calls Katniss, and it only takes her a few moments to answer,

"Hello," her voice says form the other line.

"Hi baby, I'm done for the night. Can I come over now or you're not done yet?" he's not sure when he started using pet names, but now that he knows Katniss blushes like a teenage girl every time he calls her babe or baby or his girl, he doesn't plan on stop using them.

She groans, "I wish. The professors meeting ran late and I got home an hour ago. I've only graded three exams so far. Three! Out of a hundred," she sighs tiredly.

"Maybe I can come over and help you or something?"

He can almost see her rolling her eyes, "If you come here we both know I won't be getting any work done," he doesn't want to admit she's most likely right.

"Why don't you stay in your apartment tonight and you come tomorrow when I've actually gotten something done," she suggests.

He frowns, "Are you sure? I don't mind being there."

"I don't mind you being here either; I'm just saying it'll be easier for me to finish this if I have no distractions."

"I'm a distraction?" he asks jokingly.

"Peeta," she says warningly. Okay, so she's not in the mood for jokes.

"Fine," he agrees even though he doesn't want to.

"Thank you," she sighs in relief and he tries not to feel offended. "I'll see you tomorrow okay, bye." She hangs up before he can say anything. He sighs and sits back in his desk chair and is just considering getting some essays done in advance when Finnick barges in his room.

"Yo, Peet,"

"Dude you should knock, I could've been naked in here,"

Finnick waves him off, "Eh, don't worry about that, I've seen your tiny dick in the locker room before, it'd be nothing new."

Peeta chuckles, "Right. So what did you want, besides getting another glimpse of my dick?"

Finnick looks around and tries to act nonchalant. "You going to your girl's tonight?"

"Nah, she's busy gra–" he coughs, "doing some homework. I'll see her tomorrow,"

"Great!" Finnick exclaims and Peeta frowns. "Why is that great?" he asks.

"Because you, my friend, have been trapped in here for too long," Finnick slaps his back. "We're going to a party tonight at Alpha Delta Gamma," He wiggles his eyebrows "So make yourself presentable. You stink,"

"I'm not sure I'm in the mood for a frat party, Finn, besides, a party at a Sorority? You're taken, and so am I,"

He shrugs, "Annie will be there. And it's not like you'll touch anything, you'll just dance and have fun and drink some beer and that's it. Furthermore, I can't remember the last time you went to a party with me, so we're going, I'll even be the DD!" even if he knows Finnick didn't mean to say it to make him feel guilty, he still does. He's been spending all his weekends at Katniss's and studying all week. He hadn't realized how much he had neglected his best friend, so he gives in.

"Fine," he says and Finn whoops.

"We're leaving in an hour you pussy, so get ready,"

By eleven pm they arrive at ADG, and there are girls wearing tiny skirts and tight crop tops everywhere. He texted Katniss earlier to let her know he was going to a party at a Sorority, kind of hoping she wouldn't like that there would be nearly naked girls all around him, and kind of wanting her to tell him she changed her mind and that he should go to her place. Instead she responded with a "Have fun :)"

They walk in and he sees Cato making out with some girl in the couch and Marvel grinding his hips against a blonde in the impromptu dance floor. Thresh claps him in the back and says he's happy he finally walked out of his cave.

A petite blur of red hair rushes past him and straight to Finnick. Annie crushes him in a hug and brings their lips together. After they kiss she notices Peeta's presence and gives him a hug.

"I'm so happy you came, Peeta! Is your girlfriend coming too?" She doesn't know it but her comment stings. He tries not to grimace and gives her an easy smile,

"She's busy tonight," By his flat response he can imagine Annie senses he doesn't want to talk about it because she gives him a small smile and doesn't make any further comments. This isn't the first time Peeta has had bitter thoughts about his relationship, they're not about Katniss herself, but about the unfairness of it all. He wants to introduce her to his friends and take her out to a nice restaurant in town or to the movies, hell he wants to go to the fucking supermarket with her without having to worry about being seen.

It's not her fault; he reminds himself, she hates all the sneaking around as much as he does. He knows teacher-student relationships are frowned upon and illegal, but it's different for them, they're not just fucking for the sake of it; they love each other. He wishes it were easier.

He decides he's too sober for this, so he goes to the kitchen and grabs and red solo cup and fills it with beer. Annie and Finnick disappeared long ago; they're probably making out or having sex in one of the bathrooms upstairs. He goes again to the living room and leans back against the wall, watching people making out or grinding against each other in ever surface possible, and he thinks that if Katniss were here they'd probably be one of those people.

Some girls try to catch his eyes as they walk past him, but he pays them no mind. His thoughts about his relationship turned his mood somber, and he has no interest in mingling around. After a few more beers, he's feeling the buzz but his mood hasn't exactly improved. A presence appears next to him, but he doesn't turn to look at her until she says "hey!" in a familiar voice.

"Madge?"

"Peeta, hey," she giggles "Oh, I already said that." She's holding a red cup exactly like his, but by the glazed look in her eyes it's obvious she's been having something stronger than beer, that or she's been drinking longer than him. Or maybe she's just a lightweight, either way, she's tipsy and on her way to being drunk.

"Fancy meeting you here," she says excitedly in a British accent that definitely needs improvement, but either she doesn't notice or doesn't care. It sounds so silly that he can't help but laugh at her enthusiasm and the ridiculousness of it all.

"Ha, I made you laugh. Success! You've been all gloomy here for a while and I thought I could do something to cheer you up," she bumps his shoulder and gives him a bright smile. It's not hard for him to return it.

"Have I? Sorry, I didn't notice," he lies.

Madge narrows her eyes and it's clear she doesn't believe him. For being drunk, she certainly is intuitive, "Right," she says, "Anyhow, why are you over here all alone and being such a sourpuss in a room full of girls who have been checking you out for the past two hours?"

Peeta didn't know so long has passed since they got to the party. He raises an eyebrow at Madge's comment, "They've been checking me out?"

"Duh!"

He laughs, "I guess I'm not paying attention,"

"Duh!" she says again and goes to continue but a new song starts playing and she cheers, "I love this song, come dance with me."

She grabs his hand before he can say no and forces him to the dance floor that's growing more crowed by the minute. Madge instinctively starts swaying her back to his front and he stands awkwardly behind her. She notices he's not doing anything and grabs his hands, planting them on her waist.

"Just go with it, Peeta," she whispers in his ear and starts moving again, and he pretends. He pretends Katniss is the one he's dancing with, flush against him. He pulls her closer and gives in to the beat of the music. The few cups of beer he's had must have affected him more than he thought, because for a few minutes he actually thinks Katniss is there with him. Her backside is rubbing his crotch and he's trying really hard not to let his erection show, but she must still feel it, because she turns around and looks at him. He's about to apologize but she grabs his hand and leads him outside to the backyard.

"Madge, I–" he tries to apologize again but she stops him by crashing their lips together.

He feels frozen and doesn't know what to do, his brain is fuzzy and he can't think, he can't breathe, can't do anything. She takes the initiative and once again puts his hands on her hips, her teeth softly pulling on his bottom lip, and then her tongue makes its way inside his mouth and tangles with his. He's definitely hard now and she grinds against him again and it's only when he hears a known voice say his name he reacts and pushes her away.

"Peet?" Finnick says slyly, a sardonic smile on his face "You dog, you told us it wasn't Madge!"

Peeta feels shame wash over him, "She isn't." he says roughly to Finn and quickly turns to talk to Madge, but he can't even look her in the eye "I'm sorry, I have to go," he says hastily and flees the scene, ignoring her calls. He makes his way out of the house like it's on fire and doesn't stop until he gets to where they parked Finnick's car. He notices Finnick hot on his heels.

"Man wait, I've got to call Annie, she's coming home with us,"

"Don't worry, I'll walk," he starts walking in the direction of their apartment.

"You don't have to, let me just tell Annie real quick we're leaving and I'll be back here in a flash."

Peeta relaxes. Finnick doesn't deserve his anger, he did nothing wrong. If it weren't for Finn calling his name he'd probably still be kissing Madge. The thought makes him sick to his stomach.

"Seriously Finn, you don't have to leave because of me, stay a while longer. I want to clear my head," he nearly pleads.

"Okay," Finnick agrees "Just… don't beat yourself up too hard over this. And call if you need anything,"

"Thanks."

Finnick goes back inside and Peeta walks away. He looks at his watch and sees that it's already past 2 am, the street is deserted and he decides to take his time walking home. He wonders for how long he was kissing Madge until Finnick interrupted them. He owns the guy a meal, at the very least.

He feels like shit. How could he do that to Katniss? To sweet, perfect Katniss. The woman he's in love with. He doesn't deserve her.

He was vulnerable and pissed, and Madge was there and… it's the most pathetic excuse ever. It's technically the truth, but it sounds stupid when he says it. He doesn't want to admit how easy it felt being there with Madge, being able to dance and be seen in public, not having to worry about anything. He's never cheated on any of his former girlfriends before, and even though he didn't sleep with Madge it still feels like he's a cheater.

He walks in a 24 hour Starbucks a couple of blocks away from his apartment and orders himself a hot chocolate. While he waits for his order he decides to text Katniss, she's most likely sleeping but he needs to text her, for his own sake.

You: I love you.

Sent [2:29 am]

He doesn't expect to hear from her until the morning, but his phone beeps a minute later with her response. Her message makes him laugh.

Katniss: are you drunk?

Received [2:30 am]

He presses the 'call' button and it rings for a few minutes until he hears her sleepy voice from the other line.

"So, are you?"

He smiles, "No, I'm not drunk, I just wanted that text to be the first thing you saw in the morning when you woke up. What are you doing up anyway?" the barista hands him his chocolate and he mouths a 'Thank you'.

"I wasn't, the beep of your message woke me up,"

"I'm sorry babe,"

"It's okay," She stops and then goes on, "It's really quiet on your end; did you not go to the party?"

He gulps, "Ah, no, I did go. It was boring so I decided to leave early,"

"That sucks. Nothing exciting happened?" she's killing him.

"Nope, nothing," The guilt is eating him alive, but telling her through the phone that he made out with another girl is not ideal, so he decides to wait until he sees her later to confess his idiotic actions.

She tells him she graded most of her papers, and that he's welcome to go to her place tomorrow at any time, she's looking forward to seeing him, she says,

"I'll let you go back to sleep, and I'll see you later in the morning okay?"

"Okay," she says sleepily "And Peeta?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you too." she tells him goodnight and hangs up, but he stays still, clutching his phone hard in his hand until his knuckles turn white. He takes a sip of his drink and throws it in the trash can and nearly runs all the way home. Katniss has always been a secluded person, but she opened herself and trusted him with her heart. He doesn't want to think what will happen when he confesses what he did. Tears spring to his eyes at the prospect of losing her, but he doesn't let them free.

He gets to his apartment and he's surprised to find Finnick in the kitchen drinking a glass of water. It's a quarter to 3 am.

When Finn sees him he puts his glass down and walks towards him,

"You came back early," Peeta says when Finnick opens his mouth to talk.

He nods, "Yeah, the party got boring and Annie wanted to come home." He swallows and Peeta sees the indecision in his eyes, whether he should ask him about what happened with Madge or not.

He rubs his hands together, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Peeta feels drained of all sudden. He sits on the couch and puts his head in his hands, racking sobs leaving his mouth. He can feel Finn sit down next to him as he pats his shoulder, in hope of calming him down. He finds the strength to compose himself. It isn't over with Katniss yet, she might even forgive him. He's not going to cry about being dumped when he hasn't even talked to her.

"What happened is that I am an idiot, I did something stupid that I shouldn't have done, but now all I have to do is beg for her forgiveness, and wish she'll give it to me," his eyes feel puffy and he rubs his palms against his jeans in a nervous manner.

"So you're going to tell her?"

Peeta looks at him. The thought of not telling Katniss hadn't even crossed his mind, Finnick surely isn't suggesting he keeps this from her?

"Well, yeah. I don't want to keep this from her, nor do I want her to find out from someone else. I'm just going to tell her the truth and hope she believes me,"

Finnick looks troubled again, "And what is the truth?"

"The truth is that I was upset by some aspects of our relationship, drank alcohol, my ego was bruised and I looked for comfort somewhere I shouldn't have," he says sincerely, "I made a mistake, but I feel nothing for Madge."

"She a bad kisser?"

He shrugs. "She's not bad, it just felt like kissing a cardboard box," Finnick snorts, "She didn't make me feel anything special. When Kat–" he stops, "When my girlfriend and I kiss it's like my whole skin is on fire, you get what I mean?"

Finnick glances longingly to his bedroom and soft smile plasters on his lips, "Yeah, I sure do," he mumbles. He clears his throat and looks at Peeta again before saying,

"Look, I know that you've already said its complicated and all that, but; if you don't mind me asking, why is it so complicated?" Peeta wants to tell him everything, and he almost does. Finn is his best friend after all, but then he remembers Katniss's fear, and everything that's at stake. He trusts Finnick wouldn't say a soul, not even Annie, if Peeta asked him not to, but he needs to talk about this with Katniss before spilling his guts out to his best friend.

He sighs, "Let's just say we're not supposed to be together. It's sort of… forbidden." 'Sort of', more like absolutely forbidden, he thinks.

"Her folks want to marry her off to a rich business man to save their fortune or some shit like that?" he laughs.

"Not exactly." He looks down, "All I can tell you is that I love her like I've never loved anyone else, and that I hope to spend the rest of my life with her." He knows he sounds like a bad movie cliché and he's only 21, has his whole life ahead of him, but he can't see that life without Katniss in it. "So when things are a bit less complicated you'll be the first she meets," he smiles and then sighs "If she doesn't dump me first."

"Don't worry mate, I'm sure everything will work out for the best," Finn says reassuringly and heads to his room, done for the night. Peeta goes to his own, and never mind that its past 3 in the morning, he can't sleep. He's too worried thinking about what Katniss will say, hating himself once again for having to put her through this.

"It'll be okay," he whispers and chases sleep for a few more minutes until exhaustion gets the best of him and he falls in a deep slumber.  
.  
.  
.

He arrives at her place around noon, Chinese takeout hanging from his hands. She buzzes him in and he climbs the stairs until he gets to her floor where she's waiting for him under the doorway of her apartment. When she sees him she smiles widely and moves to kiss him until he's breathless. They break apart and she leads him inside.

"Thank you for getting food, I'm so hungry." she stands in the kitchen on her tiptoes in front of the cupboard where she keeps the plates, trying to reach them. He's taller than her, so he puts the food containers on the table and goes and grabs two plates, handing them to her. "Thank you," she kisses his cheek and sets the table.

She starts taking the food out when she notices he's still standing in the kitchen. "Everything okay?" she stops her ministrations and walks to him, rubbing the tension off his shoulders. And then he kisses her. He kisses her like he's a man dying of thirst and she's a glass of water, he kisses her like it's the end of the world and these are their last moments together, he kisses her like he's a man in love who did something stupid enough to lose her. That's who he is.

Their tongues are battling for dominance when her hands run over the planes of his stomach, lifting his shirt up. He separates their lips long enough to free himself from his t-shirt and pull Katniss's tank top over her head, and he's pleased to find she isn't wearing a bra, giving him a full view of her bare breasts that fit perfectly in his hands. He crashes their lips together once again and takes the silky mounds in his hands, massaging them softly. Katniss arches her back and sneaks her arms around his neck. He releases her breasts and hoists her up to the kitchen counter.

He slides down her sweatpants and panties while she unbuckles and unbuttons his jeans and once they're around his ankles he kicks them off. She reaches inside his briefs and starts rubbing his cock, making it twitch and stiffen even more. He pushes his boxers down his hips and Katniss joins their hips together, he grabs himself and positions at her entrance, he goes to ask for her permission but she cuts him off by slipping him inside her.

He grips her hips and thrusts inside her hard. She shouts his name and starts nipping the skin of his neck while he grunts in her ear. After a few minutes he can feel her orgasm building, her walls squeezing him tightly. He moves his lips to her breast and starts kissing her nipple, his fingers playing with the other one. It doesn't take long until her orgasm rips through her, making her cry out, and after a few more thrusts he's coming inside her.

She sags forward, exhausted. He waits until his legs stop feeling like jelly and carries her to her bed, laying her down and settling next to her. He covers the both of them with a blanket and pulls her closer, kissing her hair when her head rests on his chest.

"Mmm," Katniss sighs contently, her eyes closed, "I don't even care that the food got cold."

He laughs and nuzzles sweetly the crown of her head. "I'll heat it up, don't worry,"

She looks at him, her eyes a bit too serious for being in a post orgasmic bliss. "That's not what worries me," she rubs his stomach, "Are you okay? You were acting weird when you got here and then all that," she nods her head in the direction of the kitchen and grins "Not that I'm complaining. But you seem a little… off."

"I'm okay." he smiles reassuringly and hopes she doesn't see right through him, "Let's go eat, I'm hungry," he moves to stand up but she scowls and holds him down.

"Peeta, I've known you long enough to recognize when you're hiding something, so I'm listening," she sits and crosses her arms.

He can't utter any words out. He's too afraid of what will happen, how she'll react. She sees him struggling and her face softens,

"Peeta?" she asks tenderly.

Instead of being a man and acknowledging and admitting his mistakes he decides to ignore it and asks the question in the back of his mind that has been a nagging pain in the ass,

"Where is this going?"

"What?"

"Where. Is. This. Going." He says the words slowly and harshly, "This, us. Our relationship,"

"First of all," Katniss says calmly but her nostrils flare, "You don't have to talk to me like that, I'm not stupid," and then she shrugs "We love each other, what else do you want?"

He chuckles humorlessly, "What else do I want? I want to take you out to a fancy dinner, I want you to meet my friends, I want to go to parties with you, I want to take you to the movies, I want us to move in together, I want to take you to the fucking mall, that's what I want. But we can't do that," he says darkly "Because you're my teacher."

Now she definitely looks mad. "You think this is easy for me? I don't like the sneaking around any more than you do, but what else can we do? Nothing," she says when he opens his mouth.

She throws her hands in the air, "Where is this coming from, anyways? I know we've been doing this for a long while now and that it can be stressing, but I think it's worth it. Don't you?"

"It's coming from that I went to a party last night with my friends and it felt nice being with a girl without having to sneak around all the time!" he doesn't realize what he said until after the words are out of his mouth.

The silence that follows is deathly.

"You… you were with someone last night? Did you sleep with her?" she asks brokenly. Her eyes behold raging fire, but he can see the tears she's trying to conceal. He doesn't say anything and she assumes his silence is a yes. She stands from the bed and quickly moves to her dresser, hastily looking for something to cover herself with.

"No, no!" He runs to her side and grabs her forearms, "I didn't sleep with her," she's still not looking at him so he holds her tighter with one hand and with the other forces her chin to face in his direction. Her eyes are filled with tears and his heart breaks.

"I didn't sleep with her, I swear, I swear." he whispers. When she doesn't turn away he lets her go and runs his hands through his hair in a nervous manner. She's giving him a chance to explain.

"We just danced, and then she kissed me and I sort of kissed her back, but that's it. That was it, you have to believe me," he says desperately. "I know it sounds stupid, but I was mad and I'd been drinking and I missed you and…" he stops, "I'm sorry. You don't know how sorry I am,"

"You're right, it does sound stupid." Her words are razor sharp but then she gulps and asks, "Who was it?"

He sighs, "Madge Undersee,"

"Of course she'd make a move you." she frowns, "She's very pretty,"

"Not as much as you. Besides, I love you, and I don't know what to do. I want to be with you and I want everyone to know you're mine; I want to shout it from the rooftops. I don't want to keep the secret." he holds her hands and kisses each of her knuckles, "I can't contain how I feel about you any longer, my love,"

"You're being selfish," but she doesn't sound like she means it.

"Maybe," he looks deep in her eyes, "But I want to spend my life with you. Maybe I could transfer somewhere else or maybe you'll get offered a better position at another university," he says hopefully. "We can still be together,"

She keeps quiet, scared, and he doesn't know how to interpret her silence. He kisses her over and over, but she doesn't reciprocate nor does she answer.

And then she says, "No."

They can both feel something break inside of them.

"What?" he asks dumbfounded.

She says it again, "No," he lets go of her hands in astonishment and she moves to the living room, while he stands still shocked in her room. He decides to follow her and finds her pushing her formerly discarded tank over her head, her pants already hanging from her hips. She sees him and picks up his clothes from the floor, handing them to him once she's close enough. She goes back to her room and starts emptying her drawers of his belongings she had previously placed there. He follows her again,

"What do you mean 'no'?" he asks stupidly.

She can't look at him, "Exactly that. No." she hands him more of his clothes and swallows, "You're only 21, Peeta, you shouldn't spend you weekends coped up in my apartment watching Doctor Who marathons with me. You should be partying and clubbing with your friends and kissing girls like Madge Undersee and Delly Cartwright," she whispers, defeated.

"I don't want any of that stuff, or those girls," he says quickly and grasps her face in his hands, wiping her tears. "I only said it because I was mad. I do want to take you out and have you to meet my friends, but we don't have to break up, I'll graduate someday won't I?" he smiles but she's still crying. "We'll wait until then," he puts their foreheads together.

"No, Peeta," she cries and pulls away from him. "You don't deserve this and neither do I." she goes back to extracting all that represents him from her bedroom and then her bathroom.

"Katniss, please," he pleads.

"Please don't make this any harder than it already is," she says weakly.

"Then don't do this to us."

She shakes her head, "I'm sorry, please leave," she sniffs.

He dresses, picks his stuff and leaves her apartment. When he turns around to say something else, beg again; perhaps, she has already shut the door. He can hear her broken sobs through the wood, and he cries too.  
.  
.  
.

He didn't feel like going to her classes. He was scared that if he saw her he'd burst into tears in the middle of the classroom. But he still goes, because it's Katniss. Madge talks to him in their next class and says she likes him, she's always liked him, she says, and she asks him out. Before he can answer, Katniss walks in. Her eyes are bloodshot and puffy and her voice trembles a bit when she speaks. She never once acknowledges his presence.

He swore they would fix it.

They don't.

He's banged on her door so many times he's lost count, but she never opens. He knows she's home, he can see her shadow under the door, and he pleads and cries and begs and yells, but she never says anything. He can still hear her cry though.

One time one of her neighbors heard him, and the only reason they got him to leave was under the threat of calling the cops. He said he'd leave, and when he was standing up from the floor something slid from under the door of Katniss's apartment; a note.

It's for your own good, trust me, it said.

He still went back after that, but she never opened the door. He doesn't know when he stopped trying.  
.  
.  
.

Where fire once burned ashes remain.

She doesn't know how he does it without anyone noticing, but in every single one of her classes; even the ones he's not in, there's a drawing of a heart in red marker in the board. She always erases it before anyone sees it.  
.  
.  
.

Summer arrives, and he goes back home to work in his parents' bakery to make some extra money. He's not surprised to find Madge walking inside one morning. Her father is the Mayor of District 12, after all.

She asks him out again, and this time he does answer.

His heart is still broken.

He doesn't know why he says yes.  
.  
.  
.

Before he realizes, it's September again, and destiny fucks him over once again when he notices he's been assigned to Katniss Everdeen's Biology 404 class.

And Madge too.

They cross each other on the halls, but they never look at one another.

Her because nowadays she always seems to be in a hurry, and him because he has another girl's arms wrapped around his neck.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: Hello once again. I'm on a two week break and I decided to return with a final installment for the Just another student one-shot, per your request. I enjoyed so much writing part I, so when the opportunity to write a second part was given I thought, why not?
> 
> I posted part I on Tumblr and the response I got back was amazing, it motivated me so much; on … not so much. It feels really disappointing to see that one thousand people read my fic and only 8 or so bothered to leave a Review. It's really demotivating.
> 
> Anyhow, I decided to write this especially to wonderishome on (Your review made me laugh so much, you're amazing. I can't thank you enough for your support), sunsetsmydreams (I know, it left me broken hearted too, having to write that,) and trytakingthisurl on Tumblr (Your hashtags gave me life lol), and thank you all who actually spared a minute of their time to review, like or reblog. Thank you, you incredible people.
> 
> All mistakes are mine.
> 
> Per usual, THG characters belong to Suzanne Collins, whose birthday was on August 10th, by the way. And today is Jennifer Lawrence's 26th birthday. Happy birthday Jen, I love you more than words can describe.

(3 years later)

On Friday, as he's in the freeway on his way to the hospital in his Honda –his motorcycle wasn't the most appropriate way of transportation for a doctor anyway, it's not as if it reminded him of her– his phone beeps in the console of the car, and he irresponsibly spares it a glance. That's all it takes to know the text is from Madge.

Madge: Do you want me to drive the rest of your stuff over to your apartment?

Received [12:17 pm]

He lets out a sigh, deciding he'll answer to her text later. He and Madge had broken up three weeks ago, but he'd yet to pick up a part of his belongings from her place. It's not as if he's been putting it off because he's afraid of seeing her, but he has so many things in his mind that picking up some shirts from her place is not a priority.

He and Madge had been together for nearly three years. They even moved in together six months ago when he graduated from Panem University. They'd been together for over two years and Madge felt they were ready to take the next step; he eventually caved and moved in to her apartment. And it was okay, he supposes.

During that time they were together, he realized it wasn't difficult to love her. She was sweet and kind and caring, but she was Madge. He loved her, but he wasn't in love with her. She's an incredible girl, which is why he feels like shit every time he remembers her reaction when he said he wanted to break it off.

She cried and wept and he tried to reassure her 'it's not you, it's me,' and she cried harder because that's what everyone says when the other person is the problem, so he said he was sorry; because he truly was, grabbed a duffel bag and stuffed some essentials and left. Even before the breakup he'd been looking at some apartments –he knew it was coming– so he crashed at Finnick's for a while until he finally rented his own place and got all the paperwork done. That was two weeks ago.

Madge had been calling and texting non-stop, telling him that they could fix it, whatever it was that bothered him, and every time he told her it wasn't something that could be fixed. But she still insisted, hence his exasperation to her texts and calls.

He was a piece of crap, he knew it. He knew she deserved someone better, and he told her so, but she still thought that he was the best she could have. He figured he at least owed her the truth, so when she asked if there was someone else he said there was. And there was, even after all this time.

Katniss Everdeen.

It's been three years since she left him begging for her in her doorstep, and as pathetic as it is, his heart still aches for her. They never got any sort of closure to speak of. The year they broke up she was still his biology teacher but every time he tried to talk to her after class she fled, never giving him a chance. In the hallways their stares would never meet, even though he's sure she could feel the intensity of his gaze burning through her. That too was the year when he got together with Madge, and sometimes he could feel Katniss looking at them when Madge whispered things in his ear or giggled at something he said. Katniss tried to hide it, but he noticed. He always noticed her.

After that torturous semester was over, she wasn't his teacher again. He found out from the head of the Biology department that she had left the University to teach somewhere else. He knew she always aspirated something bigger than PU, but he couldn't help but feel that he drove her away from her job. He even went to her building after she quit, and when he was waiting in front of her door he noticed an unknown woman exiting Katniss's apartment. The slightly older woman named Wiress told him she had been living there for over a month, and that she hadn't met the previous renter of the place. You drove her away from her house too, his mind accused.

Shut up, he said.

She still wanders around in his mind; more than occasionally, and he wonders if she too thinks about him.

He guiltily notices he's ignored Madge for too long, so after he gets to the hospital parking lot and finds a spot, he properly parks the car, and shutting the engine off, he grabs his phone and opens her message.

You: Don't worry. I'll pick it up after my shift.

Sent [12:40 pm]

He doesn't mention his shift ends tomorrow at one in the afternoon. He started his internship in pediatrics at Panem's Memorial Hospital nearly three months ago, and as tiring as it is, he's loved it. From the minute he wanted to be a doctor he knew he'd go into pediatrics, and now he knows he couldn't have made a better choice.

He grabs his things from the backseat and puts on his robe over his blue scrubs. His best bud the stethoscope hangs from his neck as he makes his way out of the car and locks it. He's walking to the entrance of the hospital when he notices a familiar face exiting the building. His heart stops.

Could it be actually her?

He approaches her and he feels his stomach roil when he sputters some words out,

"Prim? Primrose Everdeen?" he asks.

She looks at him confused for a second, but in her eyes he notices a spark of recognition, "Have we met?"

He shuffles on his feet. "Sort of," he chuckles awkwardly, "I'm Peeta Mellark. You probably don't remember me; my family owns a bakery on Merchant Street. We both grew up in District 12," he adds.

The gleam of recognition shines brighter, but there's something else he can't decipher. "Oh! Of course," she smiles genuinely, "How are you?"

"I'm great, how about you? You look so much different since the last time I saw you," That's not entirely true. Katniss had pictures of her and her sister all over her place, so it's not much of a surprise he was able to recognize Prim. If it hadn't been for those photographs, he probably wouldn't have noticed her. Prim has become a beautiful woman, so different from the skinny and little girl he remembered. She is only three years younger than him, but he always saw her so much smaller.

They chat for a few more minutes exchanging pleasantries, until he asks the question that's been bothering him, "What brings you by?"

"I'm training to be a nurse back in District 12, but a friend of mine insisted me to come and check out the nursing program here at Panem's Memorial," While Katniss couldn't wait to leave that small town, Prim decided she wanted to finish high school there and after train as a nurse in the same place their mother had, no matter her sister's insistence to start the program in Panem. She shrugs, but her eyes sparkle, "And I'm visiting my sister too,"

"Katniss right?" he asks innocently.

Prim nods. "Yeah, I'm actually headed to her place right now."

"Uh, that's cool, I didn't even know she lived here," he lies brazenly.

Prim nods again, "Oh yeah, she's a teacher at Capitol University. She's doing great," she beams.

Capitol University is an even more prestigious college than PU, and more expensive too. It's located up North in Panem, and he figures that it's a 45 minute ride or so from her old place. He's more relieved, for he assumes that's the main reason she moved.

Keep telling yourself that, his mind bites. He ignores it.

He's so proud of her, and he doesn't try to contain his grin in front of Prim.

"That's amazing." he coughs, "So, ah, I don't know if you'd mind giving me her address," When Prim raises an eyebrow he rushes on, "It's just been so long since we last saw each other and this is a big city you know. It'd be nice to know someone from back home in this place." he hopes he sounds convincing.

She studies him cautiously, "Promise you're not a serial killer or a rapist?"

His mouth hangs open, "I'm a doctor!"

"You never know." Prim laughs. His vast answer seems to be enough because she pulls out a piece of paper and a pen from her purse. She hastily scribbles something down and after folding it hands it to him. "You're lucky you gifted me with pastries when we were children, otherwise I wouldn't even consider giving you my sister's address," she smirks.

"Good luck," she adds and kisses him on the cheek.

She turns around and starts walking to where he supposes her car is, but she quickly turns in his direction again and asks him, "You graduated from PU recently?" He nods slowly.

"Katniss used to teach Biology there a couple of years ago you know, it's odd you never ran into her, being in medical school and all," she says as an afterthought. When she notices his dumbstruck expression she smiles and walks to her car.

He's still standing there stupidly while she climbs in her Beetle and waves goodbye at him as she drives out of the parking lot. He waves back.

He's pretty sure Prim knows something was up with him and Katniss. But she still gave him a pass to go and win her sister back.

He recovers from his shock and puts the paper safely away in his wallet. He treasures that piece of paper. After three years, destiny has given him a second chance.

The selfish part of him wants to get back in his car and drive right away to Katniss's, already thinking what he's going to say. As if sensing his irresponsibleness, his pager vibrates in his coat pocket. He knows he'll have to wait until tomorrow.

He finally walks in, greeting everyone in his way until he gets to the lockers. He sees some of his coworkers walking around zombie-like, their always present cups of coffee in their hands. He'll be one of those zombies in a few hours.

After he leaves his bag in the lockers he walks out of the lockers' room towards the nurses' station. He smiles at Rue, the chocolate colored skin and kind eyed nurse, and she hands him a clipboard.

"Good afternoon, Dr. Mellark," she smiles cheerfully.

"Good afternoon Rue," he flips the pages in the clipboard, "What do we have today?" she looks at the acrylic board behind her.

"Well, there's little Jacquie Andrews, she has a fever and needed to get her stomach pumped because of food poisoning. She spent all night vomiting and with diarrhea, poor thing, she's on bed 3. Christian Marin had a stroke this morning, he seems to be doing better, but the Neurologist wants to keep him under surveillance until tomorrow, at the least. Jason Montgomery is fully recovered from the pox, so you need to discharge him today,"

She goes on –conjunctivitis, rash, broken arms or legs, and so on. When she's done, he asks,

"What about my favorite patient, how is she today?"

Rue smiles, "She got her fifth round of chemo yesterday morning. She was weak but today she seems in good spirits. Her mother promised her a cupcake for snack and she's been going on and on all day about it," she laughs and he does too.

He picks up from where he stuffs his star stickers in the desk and after saying goodbye to Rue and the rest of the nurses he walks of in the direction of his patients' rooms.

After four hours he finally finishes checking up all the children, and leaves all of them with a colorful sticker in their arm. As soon as he catches a break he goes outside to the flower shop next to the hospital and buys a couple of lilies and orchids, and he ties them with a pink ribbon. He picks up a coffee and a cookie from the cafeteria.

He walks back into the hospital and directly goes to the Oncology section, following the direction he knows by heart. He stops in front of the room and knocks on the door, and when he hears a "come in," from inside he opens it and smiles wide at the squeak of joy.

"Doctor Peeta!" Katie squeals.

"Hello milady," he bows and she giggles.

Kate Harrington was his first patient when he started working at the hospital a few months ago. She's a cute six year old with blonde hair, brown eyes and a permanent smile on her face. He diagnosed her with leukemia when she came to his attendance. Even though he didn't have to –it was an Oncologist's job now– he still followed her progress. Katie warmed up to him pretty quickly, and he did too. She stays hospitalized at the oncological ward after her chemotherapies, so that's when he usually visits her.

He kisses her bald head and hands her the flowers, and she thanks him excitedly. He crosses the room and hands her mother the coffee. Cashmere thanks him and gives him a smile that is too much like her daughter's.

"You're spoiling her you know," she jokes when they notice Katie smelling the flowers.

"She's my favorite patient, what do you expect," he laughs and moves to the bed. He carefully studies Katie's chart and unwraps the cookie when it says she's permitted to eat some sugar. Her eyes gleam as he gives her the sweet and she wastes no time in taking a bite.

"Katie, not so fast," Cashmere chides. 

"Sorry mommy," Katie says between bites, and her mother sighs.

"Where is Gloss?" he asks, looking around the room.

"He had a work meeting. He'll be here in an hour or so," she smiles. Gloss is Cashmere's older brother. When Cashmere got pregnant her second year in college the father wouldn't assume responsibility, and her parents coldly disowned her. Gloss was the one that took her in and let her live with him even after Katie was born. Cashmere managed to finish her studies two years ago and got a job that sufficed enough for her and her daughter, and she moved out from her brother's place. Since Kate was diagnosed Gloss has been Cashmere's main support, always attending to his niece's checkups and even contributing with hospital bills. Cashmere confided all this in Peeta once she was aware how much he cared about her daughter.

He stays in the room chatting with Katie and Cashmere until he feels his pager go off in his pocket. Katie seems sad to see him leave.

"Don't worry. I'll be back tomorrow before my shift ends," he reassures her.

"Promise?" Katie holds out her pinkie.

He links his to hers tightly, "Cross my heart," he promises and she smiles. He kisses her head and after saying goodbye to Cashmere he leaves the room.

He goes to the nurses' station again and gives another round, checking on all his patients again. After, his coworker Thom invites him to witness the C-section he's assisting for a couple of hours and he agrees. He looks from the other side of the crystal they have in the OR, and he knows why Thom chose this specialty. He's not even the only to deliver the baby, but he feels the euphoria altogether.

Afterwards, there's not much to do around but he still has to stay to fulfill schedule. He has some dinner and decides to hang in the deserted hospital cafeteria, so he pulls out his book and starts studying some particular case of asthma in children. It's barely past 10 pm when his pocket vibrates furiously, and without even bothering to look at it he hastily picks up his stuff and runs all the way to the locker room where he dumps his things. He quickly goes to the emergency where he sees a couple of paramedics along with nurses rolling in three stretchers.

"Mellark, come here now!" Haymitch, his mentor and one of the heads of the pediatrics department, barks at him. He runs to Haymitch's side and notices the small body of a boy that can't be older than twelve years old. "Get ready to assist me in surgery now," he says simply and moves to the operating room where a nurse hands him his surgeon getup. He orders her to get some for Peeta too and she quickly runs away to get the suit.

He notices the other paramedic roll away from them the other two stretchers with some nurses and the doctors on shift, they too getting ready to perform surgery. The boy's parents, he guesses. He sends a silent prayer that they are alright.

The paramedic says in his ear loudly, "Car accident. 10 years old. Male. Not yet identified. Concussion, broken limb, punctured lung and spleen, wide gash on his leg. We tried to stop the bleeding as much as we could, but we nearly lost him once. Had to resuscitate him in the ambulance," he rushes on.

Peeta steps aside as the nurse hands him his outfit and he dresses quickly. He goes inside the OR and washes his hands cautiously as the nurses prep the tray with the surgical instruments. He only just notices Dr. Abernathy standing next to him putting on his gloves, "Ready boy?"

Peeta is more than qualified, but he's never operated on anyone before. "Do I have a choice?"

Haymitch snorts, "Damn right you don't," he moves next to the stretcher, Peeta following closely behind.

Four long hours later the operation finally concludes. Thankfully he and Haymitch were able to correct most of the kid's injuries, but they had to extirpate his spleen, it suffered a big part of the blow. Peeta stitches him up and when he's done the nurses roll the boy away down to Recuperation.

"Good job Haymitch," he praises.

"I'm outta here." Dr. Abernathy says. He walks down the hall but before he gets too far he turns around and looks at Peeta, "You weren't too bad either, boy," he walks away.

Peeta feels as if he could pass out, but it's only past one in the morning. He still has another long 12 hours to go. He cleans up and to occupy his time he decides to go see how the boy's parents are doing.

He sees Bonnie, one of the nurses that were present when they brought the family from the crash in, and he asks her about the parents.

"Dad is still in surgery; apparently he took a hard hit. Got a piece of metal impaled on his side," she grimaces.

"And his mom?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. The woman is not the boy's mother. She's the dad's girlfriend," she explains. "She only got a concussion and a broken leg, pretty lucky if you ask me. The kid's mother has already been informed of the crash and she's on her way. Abernathy went down for the night so we assume you'll be the one to talk to her,"

"Sure," he smiles tiredly.

A few minutes later a woman stumbles through the doors in hysterics, yelling at the receptionist in the front desk for some information. He hears the words "crash," "son," "surgery," so he quickly goes to talk to her.

He has to reassure her many times that operation was a success and that her son will have a full recovery. He tries not to feel too insulted by her jab that he looks too young to be a doctor. She wants to talk to someone with more experience, she says.

Bonnie overhears the conversation and says that he's the only doctor who was present during surgery that's available now, so unless she wants to wait until morning for Dr. Abernathy she should listen to him. That shuts the woman up.

"You're too nice sometimes," Bonnie says later.

He shrugs, "I can't blame her for thinking that I'm not experienced. I'm only 24,"

"She shouldn't judge your experience because you look young," she complains, "Don't let anyone do that." He promises he'll keep it in mind.  
.  
.  
.

Finally, glorious morning arrives.

It passes quickly as he does his rounds and checks on the boy from the accident. Once he's satisfied with the meds they're giving him and the way he's healing he goes to visit Katie before he leaves.

She's excited to see him, but she pouts when she notices he didn't bring her any cookies. Cashmere scolds her.

He checks everything that needs to be checked and once he's sure it's okay for him to leave he goes home. On his way out he drinks a strong cup of coffee so he can drive home. He nearly had forgotten about Katniss until he notices the small paper in his wallet. He'll visit her later, he decides, when he doesn't look like a zombie and has had a shower. He gets home safely and collapses in his bed, just taking off his scrubs and slipping under the sheets in just his underwear.

He wakes up at 6 in the afternoon, his bladder awkwardly full. He showers and quickly prepares a sandwich, but he's not too hungry. His stomach is in knots. He's going to see Katniss, he has to go see her. This is his chance, and he's not going to waste any more time.

He dresses simply, with some khaki shorts and a white shirt. He puts on his Chucks and grabs his wallet and car keys and goes on his way. He reads her address as he's going down the elevator to the basement, and he's surprised to see that her place is only about 20 minutes from his home.

He's still during the whole drive. He doesn't put music on to try and ease his nerves, he knows it won't work. He gets to the address Prim wrote down, and he's confused when he notices he parked in front of a small one story house, not an apartment complex. He doesn't see Prim's Beetle anywhere, but he notices a familiar silver Prius. Katniss's silver Prius.

He sits in his car for at least ten minutes, trying to calm himself down and utterly failing. He's not even worried he didn't practice what to say to her, because he knows the moment he steps out of the car any speech he had would have been forgotten. He bites the bullet, gets out of the car and walks stiffly up her driveway. He timidly rings the doorbell and he hears nothing for a few moments until suddenly the door flies open. He feels he could puke right this second. Thankfully, he doesn't.

Looking back at him is the flabbergasted expression of the one and only Katniss Everdeen.

He feels pretty stupid just standing there catching flies with his mouth wide open, but his brain can't process any words. He's just thinking Katniss Katniss Katniss Katniss Katniss and how beautiful she looks in a flannel shirt, a pair of sleeping shorts and her hair in a messy braid and he wants to kiss and yell at her, but he doesn't do anything. She doesn't do anything either.

They are like statues for another minutes until she bravely breaks the silence, "Hi," she squeaks.

"Hi," He's getting some words out, that's an improvement.

"I…" Katniss begins, "H-how are you here?"

"I drove." He jokes stupidly and nods in the direction of his car.

Katniss rolls her eyes, but the corners of her mouth are twitching traitorously. "You know that's not what I meant." She looks behind him, "You dumped the bike," she notices.

"Not really, it's sitting in my garage," he explains.

She drops the bike subject, "Answer honestly now," her eyes look deeply in his soul, "How did you get here?"

He gulps, "Prim." He says simply, "I saw her yesterday at the hospital and we talked some. I asked her your address and she gave it to me. And here we are," Katniss rolls her eyes.

"Of course," she scowls and his heart constricts. She looks behind her and seems to be battling with herself, "do you want to come in?" she says at last.

"I'd love to." He follows her in and closes the door behind him. He looks around, taking in the picturesque house. It has an open concept, the kitchen, living and dining room all in one and to the left there is a small hall that he assumes leads to the bedrooms. Katniss sits in the loveseat and he sits on the couch.

She offers him something to drink but he denies, and they just sit there staring at each other uncomfortably.

"Prim told me you got a job at CU. That's amazing Katniss," she tries to smile but looks more like a grimace.

"Peeta," Katniss says directly, "What are you really doing here?"

"I…" he sighs, "I felt like I deserved a second chance to make things right. I know I screwed up in the past and that I put too much pressure on you and the timing wasn't right but I want to fix it. I hope I can," he hurries out.

"It's been three years," she shakes her head, "why now?"

He's incredulous "I tried to fix it that same day we broke up but you wouldn't let me, Katniss. And not just that day, I went back so many times but you never let me,"

"Well it's not as if it took you too long to find someone else to make things right with," she jabs coldly.

This is not going as he expected. Sure, he assumed she'd bring the Madge subject up sooner or later but he didn't think it'd happen this soon. He sighs, "I always tried to talk to you after class but you never gave me the time of the day, and then you quit, and then you moved," his hands rub his shorts anxiously, "how was I supposed to contact you, you never even answered my texts, no matter how much I begged,"

She looks down guiltily, "It was for the best. You know that,"

"No Katniss, it wasn't for the best," he says calmly but his insides feel as if he's burning, "I never had a choice in the matter, you just shut me out. You took your own decision never even giving me the chance to express what I thought,"

"Because I already knew!" she explodes and starts pacing around the room, "You still can't see that what I did I did it for you, because I wanted you to have a normal college experience with your friends and a girlfriend without having to sneak around all the time," she repeats his own words from that awful day. "I figured you'd eventually understand and give up, and I was right. It only took you a summer," she stops pacing.

It's been three years; he can't stand the separation any longer and the least he wants to do now is fight. He walks to her and grasps her face in his hands, running his thumbs across her cheeks. She doesn't push him away. "I'm sorry. I know what I did was wrong. But you have to listen to me: I never wanted that. I was more than happy spending all my weekends with you at your place, because that's all I ever wanted –being with you. That was always more than enough," he says passionately.

"As for Madge… I was heartbroken and she was there, and things happened, and she wanted to be with me and I for some reason said yes," he explains poorly.

"I went to talk to you, to fix things up," Katniss says suddenly.

"When?"

"It was during the summer. I went home per Prim's insistence and I missed you too much and in that moment I didn't give a crap about anyone or anything, I just wanted to be with you again." Her eyes tear up. "I stopped by the bakery set on making amends and saw you behind the counter through the front window. You were with Madge Undersee. You were laughing and then she kissed you and after you smiled. I knew I had missed my chance, but I accepted it was my own fault." She sniffs. "You looked happy, and I didn't want to be the reason that made you sad again, so I left,"

He remembers that day. Madge was paying him a visit and she started retelling the story of one of her drunken escapades, and he laughed and then she was kissing him. He didn't push her away and they started dating the next day.

"I'm sorry." He says.

She shrugs, "It was nice seeing you laugh again after knowing I caused you so much suffering. Seeing you two together on campus was my karma," she chuckles humorlessly. "And then I got the job offer nearing the end of the semester and saw no reason why I shouldn't take it. I thought it would be easier for the both of us, so I accepted. I left my old apartment and bought this fixer upper so I could be closer to Capitol U," she explains.

Ha! Take that, mind, he thinks.

She pulls away and sits on the couch. He instinctively sits next to her and takes her hands in his, softly kissing her palms. Once again she doesn't stop him. Break up and separation be damned.

"I'm not a student anymore," he says smoothly after he kisses her hands. Katniss smiles,

"No you're not. Congratulations, Dr. Mellark," she says. "Are you doing your internship yet?"

"I am. Pediatrics,"

"I'm so proud of you." She beams, "I never doubted for a second you could do it," before she can catch herself she rubs her palm against his five o'clock shadow and he leans into her. It's as if these three years never happened, until she asks,

"Are you… still with Madge?" she gulps.

"No." he clears his throat and sits straight, "We broke up nearly a month ago," she pales a little.

"You were together all this time, these past three years?"

"Uh, yeah," he scratches the back of his head. It doesn't even itch.

"Why did you break up?"

"Um, we wanted different things."

"Like what?" she presses.

"She wanted me, and I wanted you." he says simply. "Madge is an amazing person, very loveable too," Katniss looks down, "but she isn't you. I loved her, but not like I love you," he says it intentionally in present tense, hoping she notices, and she does.

"I'm still older than you,"

"Yes, five years is so much older. You're nearly a grandma," he jokes.

"You're just getting your career started,"

"And I want you to be with me through it," he insists. He notices her indecision and his blood runs cold, "Unless… are you dating anyone right now?"

"No!" she reassures quickly, "I've been on some dates and had a relationship that lasted a year, but we ended it," she sighs, "I just don't want you to have second thoughts about this later,"

"I never had second thoughts, not even when you were my teacher. It was worth it, even with all the obstacles. If I had to go back in time I'd be with you all over again," he says truthfully.

She's so close to him, and she smells so good and he has missed her so badly, and the prospect that they could be a couple again is a possibility and he's delighted. He's a dying man, and she's his medicine. He pulls her closer and brings their lips crashing together. Katniss moans against his mouth and her hands clench around the collar of his t-shirt. The small vibration and the sounds she's making get him hard. It has been so long since they have been together like this and it feels like he's going to pass out. Their tongues dance and touch and his teeth nip her lip as he caresses her face and she groans in his mouth. His shorts get uncomfortably tighter.

They kiss for so long he thinks hours might have passed. They kiss until their lips are bruised and they can't postpone breathing any longer. He breaks apart from her begrudgingly, but keeps his eyes locked on hers, their pants fanning each other's faces.

"I want to do this right this time," he says when they've both recovered their breath. "No more sneaking around. You're not my teacher anymore, we can be publicly seen in the street and no one could say anything that might get us in trouble,"

"They'll still talk though," Katniss says worriedly.

"I don't care. Do you?"

"Not that they talk, I couldn't care less about what other people think about us, what worries me is that someone will inquire deeper in our relationship and find something to use against us," it reminds her when they were together when he was still her student. Out of fear she'd never even look at him on campus.

"They won't," he assures. Peeta can see the storm swirling in her gray irises. After some heart stopping moments in complete silence she speaks again,

"When you and I were together I spent most of our time being scared. Whenever the head of the department would call me to his office I felt as if I was going to pass out, and yet I knew that if we were ever found out I wouldn't regret being with you," she says sincerely. "Because you've made me feel things no one else ever has. I thought it was worth it back then, and I certainly believe it's worth it now."

He's sure his smile is splitting his face, but he doesn't care. She's giving him –them– a chance. He knows this time it'll work out, but something is still bothering him, "I'm really sorry about what happened with Madge in that frat party, I was an idiot–" Katniss puts her finger against his lips.

"I don't want to hear about that any longer. It was three years ago, what's done is done. We move forward, not back," she smiles.

He kisses all over her face and she laughs breathlessly and he swears he's never heard a prettier sound in his life.

"When are you free? I'm taking you out on a date," he asks after.

"Peeta, it's the middle of June. I'm on summer break. The question is when are you free, Dr. Mellark?" he loves it when she calls him that.

"How about tomorrow?" he asks.

"Not wasting anytime are we?" she laughs again.

He looks at her intensely, "I've lost three years. I don't want lose another second,"

"Me neither." She answers seriously and then smiles, "Tomorrow is perfect," He can't contain himself, so he kisses her.

They kiss for a while and talk about the past three years of their lives. He missed many things during that time, but he's certain they'll create new memories together if everything goes their way. He finally goes home around 10 pm, Katniss tries to convince him to stay, but he says he has to woo her properly before climbing into her bed with her.

"Who said anything about a bed? I was going to offer you the couch," she jokes.

"Ha, ha." he kisses her goodnight, "Goodbye love, tomorrow can't come fast enough. I'll pick you up at six,"

"Indeed." She gives him a shy kiss, "Do you still have my number?"

"Always," he gives her dazzling smile that makes her weak on the knees and walks towards his car. Katniss stays in the door until he drives away.

As he's on his way home the realization hits him. He's going on a date with Katniss Everdeen –a real date. Now he has to burn his brain trying to think ideas for a good first date. Back when he was her student they almost never left her apartment, their "dates" usually consisted of take out and Netflix. He didn't complain, because being with her was all he cared about, but once in a while he wanted to take her out and show her off. She never said anything, but he imagines she too wanted to get out of her apartment.

Besides that time they went to the beach and he took her to the top of the hill where he had found his secret heaven, they never did much else. Once they went to the movies and Peeta ran into one of his classmates when Katniss was in the bathroom, and he had to text her and leave. He waited for her in his bike for ten minutes until she decided it was safe to come out. They didn't go back to the movies after that.

Katniss is not the type of woman that likes going to fancy restaurants where you have to dress up, that's something he'd do –and did– with Madge. She's more of an outdoors fan. He'd take her to the beach if they hadn't already gone.

All the way home he keeps thinking about where to take her, and comes up with nothing. He decides it's time to call the cavalry.

"Hello?"

"Finn, hey," he greets.

"Dude, it's 10:30 in the night," his best friend sighs.

"Yeah, on a Saturday, I imagined you'd be up. When did you turn into such an old man?" Peeta jokes.

"I had a long shift today; I just got home about three hours ago." Finnick is not a doctor like Peeta, he's a marine biologist, but he too has to cover long 24 hour internships to specialize.

"Crap. I'm really sorry man, I'll call you tomorrow," Peeta apologizes.

"Nah never mind, I'm up now anyways. What's up?"

"You remember that girl I dated back in college, the one I told you was the one, that you guys never met?" he doesn't know how else to describe her. Finnick thinks for a moment and then Ahhs.

"You mean the mysterious one that you were with when you kissed Madge in that frat party? The one that dumped your ass nearing the end of the semester and you spent countless nights drinking over?" Apparently Finnick do knows how else to put her. Peeta sighs,

"That's the one. I ran into her today," he doesn't want to say I actually ran into her sister and convinced her to give me her sister's address and went to her house all stalker like. "And we talked and… other things, and we're going out tomorrow,"

Finnick falls quiet, "Finn, you there?"

He coughs, "Yeah. Sorry, did you say you're taking your ex-girlfriend out to a date?"

"Yeah,"

"You're taking your ex-girlfriend out, the one that dumped you and didn't forgive you even after you spent day after day knocking her door down and crying on her doorstep?" he accuses.

"…Yeah." Peeta repeats. "When you say it like that she sounds like a cold hearted bitch, and she's not like that,"

"Well I wouldn't know, she never wanted to meet us, so to me she might as well be a cold hearted bitch." Finnick replies easily.

"She's not," he defends her. "I promise. I was hurt by what she did, but she thought she was doing the right thing. She thought I deserved a girlfriend that could meet my friends and go out with,"

"She should've tried harder," Finnick whispers, but he still hears it.

"I wasn't that easy. Remember our relationship was forbidden?"

Finn sighs again, "I know no matter what I tell you you'll still go out with her. Even when you were with Madge you never got over that girl's spell," he knows him too well, "But just be aware that I'm not exactly fond of her."

"You will be," Peeta promises. "But I need your help. Where do I take her for our date? I need help. I've got nothing. Zero, nada,"

Finnick Mmms, "What kind of girl is she? Is she hearts and flowers or pizza and movies?"

He thinks. "A mix of both, I think. She's not expecting romanticism every step she takes but she likes to go out once in a while, nothing too fancy though, and definitely low-key. She doesn't like to be the center of attention,"

"I think I've got something." Finnick says after a while, "She might be in the spotlight for a little bit, but no one will know it's her,"

"What do you mean?"

"Is she afraid of heights?"

"... No," he hopes so.

Finnick proceeds to tell him his idea, and Peeta thinks Katniss could be up for it. She might even like it.

"That's great, thanks Finn."

"What would you do without me," Finnick says.

"Nothing," he chuckles.

"Peet," Finnick says seriously. "I want to meet her,"

"You will," he promises, "If tomorrow goes fine, I promise you'll be the first of my friends she meets,"

"I hope she really is as great as you say she is, otherwise I won't be your best man in your wedding,"

"She is, Finn. She truly is,"

After he hangs up with Finnick he opens a new chat and texts Katniss quickly,

You: Change of plans. I'll pick you up tomorrow at 4, does that work?

Sent [10:49 pm]

His phone beeps five minutes later,

Katniss: Sure. May I ask why the change in our schedule?

Received [10:55 pm]

You: You'll see. Dress comfortably. I can't wait to see you again.

Sent [10:56 pm]  
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He's knocking on her door five minutes after 4. She opens hurriedly, as if she had been expecting him to knock. And she glows.

He gets a flashback. Three years earlier, one day in her apartment he was laying in her bed still rejoicing in their post coital ecstasy, Katniss was changing in front of her closet, her bare back to him, and the sun that streamed through the window reflected on her figure. He remembers thinking she looked like an angel, and that's pretty much what he's thinking now.

"Hi." She says timidly. When she speaks he returns to the present and notices her outfit. She's wearing a pair of jeans and boots, and a green shirt with a black jacket. He's wearing something similar, jeans, a dark jersey with his sleeves rolled to his forearms –he knows she loves that– and his loyal pair of Vans. She takes him in and her lips curl in a smile. He hands her the bunch of flowers he bought on his way and she goes to put them away. He doesn't want to admit he looks at her ass when she walks away.

She returns and after she locks the door they walk together to his car, his hand in the small of her back. He goes to open her door for her but she gives him a look that says she's not a handicapped, so he laughs and moves to his own side.

"Where are we going?" she asks once he's started the car.

"Are you afraid of heights?" he ignores her question.

"I asked first," she says stubbornly.

"It's a surprise, now you answer,"

She looks thoughtful, "No, I'm not afraid of heights," she says.

Phew, he thinks. She asks him again where they're going but he just gives her the same answer. He puts some music and they ride without speaking. He drives with his left hand and reaches for hers with his right. She squeezes his fingers tightly.

Thirty minutes into the ride, Katniss must notice how long it has been. "How far is this place?"

"About fifteen more minutes," he says smoothly. She pulls on her bottom lip with her teeth and he has the urge to bite it her lip too.

"Can you at least give me hints?"

He concedes. "It's somewhere high,"

She looks at him directly, "Are we going to that place where you took me when we were together? To the top of that hill,"

"Nope,"

She keeps asking and he answers, but in the end she still doesn't have much information. She huffs, deciding she'll wait until they get there. Just a little before 5 they get to their destination. Katniss looks confused,

"Panem Hill? What are we doing here?" they step out of the car and he takes her hand in his again.

He's nervous, "I… a friend of mine suggested this, and I thought it might be fun to try it out," he sputters out. Katniss raises an eyebrow,

"Try out what?" he points behind her. She turns around and looks at the sign, Try out Paragliding from the highest hill in all Panem!

Her mouth hangs open and she doesn't say anything. After a few moments she's still quiet, and his stomach is doing summersaults and he's sweating. "We don't have to!" he rushes out when he notices her stricken expression, "I thought that you might like it but we don't have to do it if you don't want to–"

"No!" Katniss cuts him off, "I mean yes! I mean, I want to do it," he releases a breath he didn't realize was holding. "You just took me by surprise. I've never done anything like this before," she smiles and tugs him to the line of people, "Let's go!"

They only have to wait 15 minutes in line, since it's nearly closing time there's not much people around. He pays for both their tickets and Katniss scoffs and says she'll pay for dinner. As if.

They lead Katniss and then him away, prepping them separately. He watches her from where he is, a guy helping her with her getup while another guy helps Peeta. He quickly finishes putting together his own suit and crosses over to Katniss. He plants a kiss on her cheek and puts his hand in the small of her back,

"Are you ready?" he asks.

She looks at him excitedly, "Ready as I'll ever be," he smiles.

Peeta, Katniss and two instructors walk and stop at a few feet before the edge. Since they're not professionals, they each have to go with one instructor.

Peeta sees Katniss leave with her instructor as they do the forward launch and fly in the air. After, he and his own instructor jump in the air, and being airborne is unlike any other thing he's ever felt. They fly for about an hour until they finally land, and a Jeep picks them up minutes after. Katniss is already in the Jeep. Her eyes brighten when she sees him.

He sits next to her and before he can say anything she presses her lips to his chastely. Before he can deepen the kiss she pulls away. He remembers she's not a fan of PDA. She starts blubbering immediately,

"It was amazing Peeta! Overlooking everything from above and the feel of flying…" she goes on, but he only focuses in the glow of excitement in her eyes. She looks so young and carefree, as if she doesn't have a worry in the world. He wants to see that look more often. He promises he'll make happy enough to see that look again.

They eventually get to the paragliding center, and they thank their instructors before leaving. He takes her hand and leads her to his car, "We're not done yet. Wait here," he says. Katniss stays a few steps back as he retreats from his car a picnic basket he kept hidden behind the passenger seat. "Second part of our date," he tells her when he returns to her side.

Katniss scowls, "No wonder you agreed to let me pay for dinner. You already had dinner planned," she rolls her eyes. "It's on me next time."

They walk through the woods until they get to the crest of a low cliff, and he sets down a blanket and the picnic. They sit side by side and eat the food he brought until the sun sets, and he remembers when he took her to his heaven. Katniss must remember it too, "This brings some memories," she nuzzles his neck.

He kisses her then, and she responds eagerly. His tongue trusts in her mouth and he pulls her in his lap. After a few minutes of making out she grinds her hips against his and he can feel his cock hardening rapidly. "Shall we leave?" he asks between kisses and Katniss pulls away and nods. Her lips are red and her cheeks flushed. Her hair is frenzy from where he was running his hands through, and he imagines he mustn't look very different.

He torturously remembers the drive back takes nearly an hour. All he wants to do is bury himself in Katniss. He drives a little over the speed limit but not enough to kill them in the way. Katniss notices his hurry and laughs, "Do you need to do something back home?"

"More like someone," he grins when she blushes.

After nearly an hour, they finally get to her place. He parks the car in a rush and he's not even sure he parked it straight but right now he realizes it doesn't matter. He finds her in the other side of the car and puts her body flush against his, his mouth meeting hers and their limbs tangling together. Her legs find that oh so familiar place around his waist as he carries her to her front door. She breaks away from him long enough to put the key inside the keyhole and hurl the door open. They tumble in excitedly and Peeta kicks the door closed.

Everything else seems to have vanished as he walks the distance to her room, following her indications. He lays her down gently on the bed, and she gifts his face with gentle caresses. Her eyes never leave his, and even three years later he sees an adoration that's familiar to him. He's sure she must read the love in his eyes as well.

He's determined to take his time, and he does. He kisses her tenderly, her forehead, her eyelids, the tip of her nose, and finally her luscious lips. She pushes his shirt over his abdomen and he takes it off completely. Katniss kisses his chest and runs her nails over his pectorals, he shivers and she smiles. He takes their clothing off one by one, until she's only clad in a pair of black lacy panties and he's fully naked.

Her small hand wraps around him and his head falls forward to where her neck meets her shoulder, his lips planting soft kisses there. He takes her breast in his mouth and plays with her other nipple, and Katniss moans and arches her back. He had forgotten how beautiful are those sounds she makes when she's in the throes of passion. He pushes her panties down her hips and his finger meets her center, she mewls and tugs at his hair and he sucks harder on her breast.

"I want you," she pants. That's all he needed to hear.

He lets go of her and she reaches next to her in the nightstand the box of condoms. She grabs one small foil packet and instead of giving it to him so he can put it on she rips it open with her lips and wraps the prophylactic smoothly down his length. The view alone nearly makes him come, and if possible his cock hardens even more. She pushes him down to her again and directs him to her entrance. He can feel her heat and she feels so soft and wonderful and familiar beneath him. He pushes inside her, and he doesn't know how he has survived these last three years.

Katniss is warm and tight and accommodates him so perfectly. She moans and sighs and he groans and they make the most amazing sounds together. They kiss and touch and love each other. He kisses her breasts and she sucks on his neck and her hands run down his back to his ass while his grasps her hips tightly. The bed creaks and the headboard thumps against the wall as their erotic sounds fill the room. Sweat is coating their skin and their bodies are slapping together and they're so close. He reaches down and fingers that small protuberance that makes her scream, and she groans louder and bites his shoulder as she comes. He grunts and sighs and tries to hold on but her walls are squeezing him so deliciously. When her hands run softly over his hair he looks down at her and her eyes lock with his, those beautiful gray orbs meeting his. She looks deeply at him, telling him to let go with her eyes, and he does.

They clean up and lay spent after, both breathing heavily. Katniss cuddles to his side and he runs his palms down her smooth back. The room smells like sex and sweat and them, and he loves it.

"I missed this," Katniss whispers.

"Me too. You have no idea how much," he kisses her forehead. Her soft snores soon fill the room, and he follows shortly after.

The next morning he wakes up at 8, and Katniss is still sleeping peacefully next to him. He decides to make himself useful. Thirty minutes later he's cooking breakfast for them when a pair of arms wrap around him. He jumps, "Jesus, I forgot how stealthily you move," he turns around. She's only wearing her panties and a t-shirt and his mouth waters.

Katniss grins and gives him a kiss. Her mouth tastes like mint and his tongue explores her oral cavity, "What are you making?"

"French toast." He picks her up and sits her on the counter. He settles between her legs and kisses her, and she mischievously tugs his underwear down his hips, pumping his dick. She lets him go and lifts her own shirt over her head and her panties down her legs, and she's wet and glistening. He runs butt naked to her room and extracts a condom from the box; he wraps it on as he walks back and finds Katniss right where he left her. He kisses her deeply and trusts inside her.

They sigh and moan and pant. He kisses her everywhere he can reach and she gifts him with more of those heavenly sounds her mouth makes. He rubs her clit and she traps him with her legs, and then they come together.

Once they've recovered they eat a slightly burnt French toast in the table. "Did Prim know about us?" he asks.

Katniss looks down guiltily, "Only after we broke up. When I went home that time and saw you with Madge I was pretty much depressed. Prim forced me to tell her about why I was so sad. I didn't want to, but I had to let it out with someone. Who better than my sister? And so I told her. Not everything… but some things," she shrugs. "I told her about us and that we broke up. I had gone to the bakery to try and make it better but had seen you kissing another girl. She eventually found out you were the baker's son." she looks at him pleadingly. "Please don't be mad,"

"I'm not mad," he sighs, "I just wish I could've done the same with Finnick, about confiding in him, but I get why I couldn't," Katniss apologizes again.

He doesn't want to talk about the subject any longer, "I want to cook dinner for you," he says suddenly.

"You made a picnic for us yesterday, and breakfast this morning," she's talking quietly.

"I know. But I want to make you your favorite meal," he insists.

She shrugs and smiles softly, "I won't oppose to that." he laughs, "When?" she asks.

"Today," he answers and stands up. He's moving to clean the dishes but she stops him and insists she'll do it later. She practically shoos him away from the kitchen. "I'll make lunch for you in my place, you can come around 7," he goes to her room and starts dressing. "Is that okay?"

"Sure," she laughs at his enthusiasm.

He writes down his address for her and leaves little after. They kiss goodbye at least five times, and he's sure the look like lovesick teenagers.

When he's shopping the groceries for the meal Finnick calls. "So, how was it?"

Peeta smiles, "It was perfect, she loved it. You were right Finn," he ignores Finnick's I always am.

"Are you at her place?" he asks.

"No, I'm buying groceries. I'm going to cook her dinner tonight,"

Finnick stays quiet for a moment, "Oh, really? What time?"

"Seven. Why?"

"No reason," Finnick says innocently. "Bye Peet, good luck!" he hangs up. He's up to something, Peeta is certain.

He spends most of the afternoon cooking. He makes her favorite dish –lamb stew– and makes dessert too –chocolate cake–. Five minutes before 7 his doorbell rings, and he checks his reflection and breath before he opens the door. He wasn't prepared for the sight behind it.

"Finn?" Peeta hisses. "What are you doing here?"

He steps inside the apartment and looks around, "I came to meet the mysterious lady," he says simply. "Is she here yet?"

"No, she isn't, and you have to leave now," almost instantly there's a knock on the door. Katniss.

"Joy, she's here," Finnick says excitedly.

Peeta knows he's cornered between the sword and the wall, and he knows Finnick. He won't stop until he gets what he wants. He might not even recognize her; she was never his teacher, might as well get this over with.

He opens the door and there is Katniss. She's standing there in a beautiful clear colored sweater and a skirt –a skirt! –, smiling shyly at him. All at once she notices the presence behind him and all color drains from her face. He ushers her inside and kisses her cheek. Finnick walks until he's standing in front of them. He takes her hand and kisses it,

"Hello, mademoiselle, I'm Finnick Odair," he charms. Katniss is still pale as a sheet next to Peeta, who clears his throat, and she seems to recover a bit.

"Katniss Everdeen," she squeaks nervously.

"It's great to finally meet you," Finn goes on oblivious.

"Finnick was just leaving," Peeta says and looks pointedly at Finnick, but he's not looking at him. He's looking intently at Katniss.

"Have we met before? You seem familiar," he scratches his chin thoughtfully. "Did you go to Panem U?"

"Finn, it's time you go." Peeta says harshly. Finnick pays him no mind, because suddenly his eyes widen comically and he points to Peeta and then Katniss.

"I remember seeing you a couple times going to the teacher's lounge." He whispers, "And I think you once gave classes to mi fiancée, Annie, she mentioned she had a teacher named like a rare flower or something," he says breathlessly. Katniss pales even further and Peeta worries she might pass out in his arms. He looks at Peeta, "Peet?"

Peeta sputters out, "You must be confusing her with someone else,"

He points at Peeta, "I think you mentioned her a few times too," then he shakes his head, "And more than once Cato talked about his hot biology teacher. Ms. Everdeen," he starts pacing the small room, "A 'forbidden, complicated relationship'?" he repeats what Peeta said to him so long ago. "You two… back then…" he stops and sits down on the couch. Katniss's head is down, but Peeta notices a tear trekking down her cheek. He quickly wipes it away and takes her in his arms,

"It'll be okay," he reassures, but he doesn't sound too convinced himself. He sits the both of them in the couch and wraps his arms around Katniss. Her head lolls to his shoulder and he presses a soft kiss to her head. Finnick is looking at them, his mouth hanging open.

They keep quiet. No one knows what to say, until Finnick speaks, "That's why you wouldn't introduce her to any of us," he realizes. Peeta nods guiltily,

"Finn, I wanted to tell you so many times, but we couldn't. There was too much at risk," he nods his head to Katniss. Finnick still doesn't say anything, "I know how this must look," he continuous. "But this wasn't just some fantasy turned true back then. What we had was real, and its real now," he lifts her chin so she's looking at him. "I never stopped loving her," she looks deeply in his eyes.

Her hands run over his cheeks, "me neither," she kisses him softly and he kisses her back, and he almost forgets about Finnick until he coughs.

Finnick looks seriously at the both of them. "You're my best friend, Peeta," he smiles softly at Katniss, "Your secret is safe with me."

After, they insist that Finnick has dinner with them, but he denies profoundly. Before he leaves the apartment Katniss surprises the two of them by embracing Finnick tightly. "Thank you," she whispers in his ear, but Peeta hears it and smiles.

"I hope to see you again soon enough," he kisses her cheek and gives Peeta a quick embrace, and then he leaves the apartment.

They have dinner together, and Katniss moans when she tastes the stew. Once they're done they wash the dishes and put them away together. They sit on the couch and eat the dessert, and once in a while spoon feed each other cornily. Peeta laughs when Katniss says so.

She puts their dessert plates away and lets him lead her to his bedroom when things in the couch start getting heated. They spent the rest of the night in his bedroom, making each other fall apart repeatedly. The moonlight illuminates their flushed skin and the hours pass hurriedly. Neither notices the sun making its way out until it's streaming through the blinds in his bedroom.

He goes to take a shower in the morning and Katniss quietly joins him. Their bodies clash together once again, like a moth to a flame. Katniss is fire, and he is the moth. He doesn't mind burning himself as long as she's there providing him warmth. "Is this real?" he asks when they're lying in bed later. Finally his brain has seemed recover from its euphoric state from making love to her so many times this past 24 hours.

And then she looks at him again, and he feels his insides turn to mush. Just one look from her can make him feel that way. He's not sure if he's dreaming, but if he is he never wants to wake up.

"It's real," she kisses him.  
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They're inseparable the weeks that follow. She spends some days at his place or vice versa, and he takes her out every chance they get, even if it's just simple things like going to the movies or the park. He wants to make up for all the time and opportunities they didn't have when he was her student. They even double date with Finnick and Annie. Finn was weary of her at first, but by the end of the date he could see Katniss had wrapped him around her finger, and Finn seemed shocked to realize how smitten he was by her. Peeta knows the feeling all too well. Katniss was Annie's teacher, so they started off awkwardly but through the date he could see them coming closer and even joking together. He's sure they'll get to be good friends.

They make love many times too.

Sometimes it's hurried and hard, and other times it's sweet and tender, depending on their mood and time. But it never stops being passionate and the phrase making love suddenly has a true, significant meaning.

One day he's in the hospital covering his shift and she brings him lunch. They eat together and he introduces her to all his coworkers, proudly showing her off. Thom and Thresh recognize her, but Peeta says they saw each other just a few weeks ago. They don't ask any questions, and they're happy for them, they say, and he's very grateful for his friends.

It's on her fourth visit to the hospital he decides it's time to take her to meet Katie. She got her final round of chemo the day before and the nurses say she's jumping from the walls. He's mentioned Katie to Katniss before and she suggests they buy her something as a Congratulations for finishing your chemos! present. Peeta buys her flowers and Katniss buys her a stuffed horse animal.

When they step in her room he can sense Katniss's nervousness and he gives her hand a comforting squeeze. Cashmere greets them both and Peeta gives Katie the flowers. She looks at him excitedly but her eyes narrow when they settle on Katniss. Peeta does the introductions and Katniss gives her the stuffed animal, and Katie's eyes seem to soften a bit. They hit it off completely when Katniss teaches her how to braid in different ways the horse's long tail. She's patient and kind and Katie is excited because when her hair grows back she'll be capable of braiding it herself! They even start laughing together, and Peeta swears his heart is going to burst. He has to leave shortly after because he's needed, but Katie insists that Katniss stays for a while longer, and she agrees happily.

It isn't until an hour later when Katniss finds him in the hall and tells him she's going home. She managed to leave Katie but only under the promise that she'd visit her with Peeta at every possible opportunity, she says with a laugh.

He walks her to her car in the parking lot and kisses her profoundly before she leaves, as a promise of what is to come once he comes home. He breaks apart and notices a presence next to them, and his heart stops a little when he notices a familiar blonde hair. Madge.

Her mouth is open she holds a duffel bag in her hands as she looks from him to Katniss back and forth. "You never went to get your stuff, so I thought I'd bring it over." she explains weakly and holds the bag up. He guiltily realizes that's true. He never picked up his things from his old apartment when he said he would. "Professor Everdeen?"

Katniss pushes her hair behind her ear in a nervous manner, "Hi, Madge, and its Katniss, you're no longer my student,"

"Clearly," Madge nods at Peeta. He stiffens and walks towards her,

"Thank you for bringing this," he takes the bag from her hands. Her eyes are still looking between him and Katniss. "I'm sorry I didn't go. I've been so busy at the hospital,"

"Right." She says sadly. She clears her throat and blinks, "It was great seeing you again… Katniss, and you too Peeta," she gives them a small smile. "Good luck," she hugs him quickly and walks to her car.

"Madge!" he calls after her, "Thank you," she smiles tearfully and climbs in her SUV. Madge Undersee deserves better, he's sure.

He and Katniss make love three times after he gets home, and when his body doesn't feel like jelly he kisses her and says,

"I love you. I love you more than I ever thought humanly possible, and I have loved you since I have a memory. I know it hasn't been easy for us, but easy is boring, no?" he chuckles. "And we never needed for it to be easy, we needed it to be possible, and it was, with a lot of sacrifice and pain, but it was, and I have no regrets." He says passionately. "I spend six days a week in a hospital, working and studying my ass off so I can give you the life you deserve, and I can't promise it'll be perfect, but it'll be real. I promise to help you make your dreams come true, and create new dreams together.

"I'm not rich, I can't promise I'll buy you the world, but I can promise to give you everything I've got and love you with every fiber of my being." He shrugs, "I know it's not much, but it's what I have, and I can only hope it's enough,"

He's surprised to notice tears rolling down her cheeks. She climbs in his lap and kisses all over his face until she gets to his lips. She joins their mouths tightly and when they break apart he kisses her tears away.

"You have always been more than enough." She assures, "And I love you too, with my whole existence, and I want to do it for the rest of my life if you let me," he laughs joyously.

"You don't even have to ask." He joins their lips together. When he feels the very physical love and electricity emanating from their bodies he wonders how no one ever noticed back then he was never just another student.


End file.
